11-Year-old boy dies in East St. Louis house fire

(KMOV/AP) -- A child was unable to escape, and died in a Sunday morning fire in East St. Louis.

The fire started around 1:30 a.m. in the 700 block of North 70th Street. Officials say six people were in the home when the flames broke out. All inside the home made it out safely except for an 11-year-old boy.

Neighbors tell the Associated Press that Darius Addison, 11, was frantically calling out for someone to rescue him and was banging on a bedroom window as flames surrounded him.

Paramedics located Darius in a hallway near the front of the house. He was taken to an area hospital, but did not survive his injuries. A neighbor says Darius did not live at the house; he was there visiting his grandmother.

The cause of the fire is unkown. The Illinois Fire Marshal is expected to investigate the cause.

The St. Louis chapter of the American Red Cross dispatched a Disaster Action Team to the home.

The organization is providing food and clothing for four other children and five adults affected by the fire.